


A Cultural Exchange

by Luthien



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-11-25
Updated: 2008-11-25
Packaged: 2017-10-14 18:43:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/152293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luthien/pseuds/Luthien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some things, it turns out, aren't universal after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Cultural Exchange

**Author's Note:**

> Written for mcsmooch

"Look, I'm sorry," Rodney says, and John winces inside because Rodney's tone is anything but, "but there's simply no way that anyone could get this thing up and running anytime soon." He waves his Ancient spanner-cum-screwdriver thing in the general direction of the machine in the cave behind him.

"We had hoped that a man of great knowledge and learning such as yourself would be able to make it work," Elder Harmin says.

"Usually, that would certainly be the case," Rodney agrees.

"It looks as if there isn't much wrong with it," Harmin says hopefully.

John has to admit that the guy has a point. The control panel _looks_ just like every other Ancient console John's ever seen, the metal smooth and unblemished, the whole thing apparently untouched by the passage of ten thousand years.

"On the outside, yes," Rodney says. "Unfortunately, the same can't be said for its insides. Half the crystals are missing, just to begin with, and the ZPM is all but depleted." Rodney can't contain a sigh at that.

Harmin frowns. "But how could that be? We had no knowledge that this chamber within the cave even existed until you discovered it."

"The ZPM's power was probably used up by the Ancients in the war with the Wraith, ten thousand years ago, but someone's clearly been into that cave more recently than that. The evidence is everywhere."

"Evidence?" Harmin still sounds confused, and John really doesn't blame him. A first meeting with McKay, in this mood, can be a shock to the system, especially when it happens well before first drinks.

"Look around you!" Rodney strides over to a tall, dark-haired young woman standing near the edge of the group of interested on-lookers and grabs at her arm. Everyone tenses; John's hand is instantly on his weapon and he doesn't have to look to know that Ronon and Teyla have both shifted into position beside him, but before anything unfortunate has a chance to occur Rodney turns around and now they can all see that he hasn't grabbed the girl but just the bracelet hanging loosely from her wrist.

"Look!" Rodney says again, and he lifts up the bracelet so that the crystals set into the twisted metal band - the tiny but perfectly formed segments of _Ancient control crystals_ , John realises - catch the light. He looks around the group and now it's only too obvious. This girl isn't the only one: every bracelet, every necklace, hell, even Elder Harmin's belt buckle, features either part of a crystal or at least one piece of metal that's clearly of Ancient origin.

Rodney sees John staring and nods emphatically. "Exactly. You're all wearing bits and pieces from the internal workings of the machine in this cave. They've been scavenged, souvenired, whatever you want to call it, and turned into _jewellery_." Rodney isn't trying to hide his scorn, and John winces again. It looks like it's time to step in.

He gets as far as "Perhaps we- Ow!" before he turns to give Teyla a reproachful stare.

She flashes him a quick smile of apology before she lifts her boot off his toes and addresses the girl wearing the bracelet. "We have not yet been formally introduced. I am Teyla Emmagan, daughter of Teygan, of Athos." She bows formally.

"I am Senna of... of Targa," the girl replies, blushing slightly. "

"It is an honour to make your acquaintance, Senna of Targa." Teyla nods toward the bracelet. "This is a most beautiful ornament. I feel sure it must have been created many generations ago. It is a family piece, is it not, Senna?"

The young woman nods. "Yes, my mother handed it down to me, as it was handed down to her in turn."

Teyla thanks Senna, who nods again and casts a sideways glance at Elder Harmin before moving quickly to the back of the group, as far away from the centre of attention - and from Rodney - as possible. Teyla looks meaningfully at Rodney, eyebrows just slightly raised.

"Yes. Fine. Whatever," Rodney says irritably. "It doesn't matter when the pillaging happened, millennia ago or last week. The fact is, it did happen and that's why I can't fix it in a day - or at all unless I get my hands on the appropriate parts, and those don't exactly grow on trees."

"So you have said," Elder Harmin says, "but I would still like very much to know the purpose of this machine that the Ancestors have left us. I had hoped that we could get it working and perhaps have an answer by the end of your visit today." Harmin clearly didn't make it to the position of chief elder through any lack of stubbornness. He and McKay are doing a great impression of immovable object meeting irresistible force, and John wonders if they're going to end up with yet another set of non-allies by the time this mission is through. He really hopes not. The Targans are an important factional player in the Coalition, and Woolsey sent them off on this mission with strict instructions about being friendly and accommodating and generally giving the Targans whatever they want, within reason. John isn't looking forward to having to go back to Atlantis and try to explain how they managed to piss off the potential allies _this_ time.

Or maybe he should just leave that task to McKay.

"Well, you can kiss that idea goodbye," Rodney says brusquely. "The getting it working properly today part, I mean, but if we cross-check it against the information we have in the database I should be able to work out its probable function even without-" Rodney breaks off at Harmin's latest puzzled look. "What's so hard to understand about 'I can't get it working today'?"

"Yes, yes, you've made yourself more than clear about that," Harmin says impatiently.

"Then what's the problem?"

"What, exactly, do you mean by 'kiss goodbye'?" Harmin says.

"Oh, that. Sorry." And this time Rodney does sound vaguely apologetic. Vaguely. "It's just a figure of speech. Idiom from my home planet. It means that you can forget about getting this thing up and running today."

"Yes, I understood the inference." The elder smiles a politician's smile, bland and plastic and determinedly pleasant, and John's estimation of his intelligence ratchets up several notches. He tightens his grip on his weapon. "But what is this word 'kiss'?" Harmin continues. "It is not one that I have heard before."

Rodney blinks. "Oh. Well, you must call it something else. You know, when a person presses their lips against another person's lips."

Lips pressing against lips? Is that really the best description that McKay can come up with? John wants to make a crack about romantic technique and ask after the women that Rodney's dated over the years. But the look on Elder Harmin's face says that he really _doesn't_ know.

"You do this as a way of bidding farewell?" Harmin says dubiously.

"Sometimes. Or to show affection or... You've really never heard of kissing?" Rodney asks, in that tone he uses when he suspects John of mocking him.

"Actually, Rodney, I think you will find that the practice is not a common one throughout the Pegasus Galaxy," Teyla interjects.

"It's not?" Rodney says, incredulous. John's right there with him. "Isn't it just sort of, I dunno, instinctive or something?"

"No," Teyla says evenly. "It is cultural."

"Perhaps you would care to demonstrate?" Harmin asks even more dubiously than before. The stony look in his eyes says that Rodney isn't the only one who's suspicious of being mocked here. "The people of Targa have always valued the knowledge and customs shared with us by other peoples. All of our most valued allies have been more than happy to share their traditions and learning with us."

And yeah, they already knew that the Targans valued knowledge over just about anything else, and that they have a reputation for rewarding those who share with them. Nice of Harmin to remind them, just in case they didn't already get it - though given the way McKay's been carrying on, maybe Harmin can be excused for thinking that they don't understand how the game is played around here: you scratch my back and, since I have something you really, really want, I'll smile and play dumb while I consider whether to scratch yours.

"We would be happy to demonstrate," Teyla says with an easy smile. And then, after everyone else stays right where they are and says absolutely nothing, she adds: "Rodney?"

"Me? But surely Ronon, or Sheppard-"

"You were the one who brought up the subject in the first place," Teyla says firmly.

"Yes, but-"

"Rodney?"

"Yes?"

"You may kiss my cheek whenever you are ready." She tilts her head to one side and smiles at him. It's her customary serene smile, and yet somehow there's a hint of mischief about it, too.

"Oh, now that's- Your cheek. Right," Rodney says and takes the few steps to Teyla's side. He pauses there, hovering, almost, hands moving this way then that, as though he's not sure what to do with them.

John can relate to that.

Finally, Rodney decides on the best angle for the approach, lays his hands gently on Teyla's shoulders and leans in. It's just a quick peck, soft and careful. The sort of kiss a parent might give to a young child. Sort of sweet, really.

The Targans are not greatly impressed.

"That's all there is to it?" Elder Harmin says, frowning.

"Didn't you say something about the pressing of the lips against the lips of another person?" one of the other elders puts in. Figures. This guy hasn't said a word all through the diplomatic niceties or any of McKay's scientific explanations about ZPMs and Ancient tech, but now that there's the prospect of a proper floor show... Now it really is time for John to step in.

"There are different types of kisses," John says easily, affably, and smiling his friendliest, most laidback smile. "Teyla and McKay, they're friends, so McKay kissed her in the way a friend would kiss another friend. The lips on lips kiss that McKay mentioned earlier, that's more something that's shared by people who are closer."

"Closer than friends. You mean family?" Harmin asks. That confused look of his is really getting a work-out today, but John bets it's nothing to the expression that's probably on his own face right now.

"Well, no. Not family," John says, biting his lip.

"On Colonel Sheppard's home world I believe this type of kiss signifies a certain degree of intimacy, shall we say? Most of his people seem to find it quite pleasurable." Teyla comes to their rescue again. If she were one of his Marines, John would have recommended her for a commendation long before now. Since he can't do that, and Woolsey tends to get weird about handing out civilian decorations to aliens, he's really going to have to bite the bullet and get her something nice the next time he visits a planet with a fabric stall or a jeweller's hut - or possibly a Neiman Marcus.

"Intimacy?" Harmin's confused expression is at last replaced by something else. There's a speculative gleam in his eye as he looks at Teyla now, which John really, really doesn't like the look of. Maybe she'd like a nice new weapon as a thankyou present. Something pointy and sharp.

"Yes! It's intimate. Very, very intimate." Rodney pounces on the word like a drowning man clinging to a lifeline. "Way too intimate to demonstrate in public."

"So why are people always kissing in the movies from your planet, then?" Ronon wants to know.

Rodney's eyes twitch as he turns to face Ronon. "Those are dramatisations. They're not real," he says from between gritted teeth. He looks very much like he wants to hit Ronon, or that he'd like to hit Ronon if Ronon were... not Ronon.

"But they reflect reality," John argues. "There's no big social taboo against it."

"Oh, yes. There's no big social taboo against it, which is why you see the hallways of Atlantis littered with frenching couples. Why, some days I can't move without falling over them!"

John eyes Rodney. "Frenching?" he says with a smirk.

"Fine: smooching, snogging, pashing, sucking face, osculating, kissing, whatever. Take your pick!"

John blinks. "I don't even know where to start!"

"There's that many words for it?" Ronon says, sounding interested.

"So let's guess, they didn't have kissing on Sateda, either?" Rodney says.

"We had something like it," Ronon says. "More or less."

"How can anything be more or less like kissing? Either it's kissing or it isn't."

"It was mostly like kissing. Just not on the lips."

"And I just kissed Teyla on the cheek," Rodney points out. "This is still sounding like kissing to me so far."

"People on Sateda used to do it in private." Ronon smirks at him then but Rodney stands his ground, an eyebrow raised and arms folded across his chest, the picture of barely leashed impatience as he waits for the rest. "Naked," Ronon adds. "And-" He makes a suggestive gesture with his hands, so suggestive that John has to bite his lip. Hard.

"Yes, yes, I get the picture," Rodney says hurriedly. "We have a word for that, too."

"Several words," John puts in.

Rodney turns to glare at him. " _Not_ helpful, Colonel," he says, eyes darting meaningfully toward their hosts.

John shrugs. "Just trying to be accurate."

Elder Harmin, who has been watching avidly from the sidelines like a tennis fan who's unexpectedly ended up with front row seats at Wimbledon, steps forward. "This is all most interesting," he says, "but I still do not fully understand the significance of this practice. From what I have seen so far, it seems more symbolic than anything of importance in and of itself."

Rodney and John exchange a look.

"No, it's more than just symbolic," Rodney says slowly. "A kiss is-

"Just a kiss," John finishes.

Rodney rolls his eyes. "It's a line from a song," he explains to Harmin. "Well, to be accurate, it's a misquote of a line from a song. The actual lyric is 'a kiss is still a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh'." He darts a smug little glance John's way. "Colonel Sheppard's version is pretty much the opposite of what I was trying to say. In our culture, a kiss is rarely 'just' anything. Kissing is the subject of poetry and drama and songs - lots of songs, not just that one. Every love story touches on the subject eventually. The first kiss is one of the most important steps in the development of any romantic relationship."

"This is _most_ interesting," Elder Harmin says, before John has the chance to ask Rodney if he picked all that up from his secret Harlequin collection. "I take it that you intend to demonstrate this sort of kiss for us?" He smiles at Rodney expectantly, that unsettling gleam back in his eyes.

"Me?" Rodney says. "Isn't it someone else's turn?"

"But you're doing such a great job of explaining, Rodney. You don't want to stop when you're on a roll," John tells him.

"Please. We would be most grateful," Harmin says, with the emphasis on the last two words. "Particularly since you were unable to unlock the secret of the Ancestors' machine."

And there it is again, the reminder of why they're here.

Rodney buries his face in one hand and shakes his head. "Brain the size of a planet," he mutters, the words coming out all muffled from between his fingers.

John bites down on a smile.

Rodney lifts his head and looks resignedly around the group. "Oh, all right," he says. "Let's get it over with then, shall we?" He smooths down his hair. "Teyla, if you're ready?"

"Actually, Rodney..." Teyla pauses, purses her lips and looks uncertain for the first time since they arrived on this planet.

Rodney frowns. "What happened to being happy to demonstrate?"

"I would like to help," Teyla assures him, "but I do not believe I am proficient enough to demonstrate this sort of kiss effectively. Kissing is not an Athosian tradition."

Rodney blinks. "It's not?"

"No. I had never kissed anyone before I met your people."

"You hadn't?" Rodney's gaping at her now.

"No," Teyla says simply.

"Why didn't you ever mention this before?"

And yeah, Rodney has a point there.

Teyla shrugs a graceful shoulder. "The matter never really came up."

"What do you mean, never came up? How could you sit through all those movies with us, not to mention listen to all the gossip that flies around the city at the speed of light, and never-"

"The movies made the context clear. And then I asked Elizabeth and she explained the rest."

"Well that makes sense. I guess," Rodney says, but he's shaking his head. "So, you've really never kissed anyone?" He seems to be having trouble taking it in, as if someone's just told him that one of the fundamental laws of physics doesn't apply in this galaxy.

"Not until a couple of years ago."

Not Kanaan, then. John's on the point of asking who she's been kissing, and stopping himself before he starts because it's his father's voice he hears saying the words in his head, when Teyla catches his eye and holds it for a fleeting moment. Realisation slams through him, and John closes his eyes on a long, drawn-out breath, suddenly sick to the stomach.

He doesn't need to ask; he already knows the answer to that one.

"I'll do it," he says, voice suddenly hoarse.

"A couple of y- What did you just say?" Rodney says, turning to stare at John.

"I'll do it. It should be someone from Earth, and the only other person from Earth here is me, so: pucker up, McKay." He tries to make it sound teasing, but it just sounds forced, at least to his own ears.

"Are you sure you know what you're saying, Colonel?" McKay's looking at him like he's lost his mind.

"Colonel - John - you do not have to do this." Teyla looks worried.

"Oh, yes. I really think I do," John says with a humourless laugh. "Whenever you're ready, McKay." He steps right up to Rodney, so they're standing eye to eye with only a few inches separating them.

Rodney opens his mouth, hesitates, then closes it again. He looks even more uncertain than when he kissed Teyla. John stands there, waiting for Rodney to get on with it - wondering if Rodney ever _will_ get on with it. It's looking less and less likely the longer they stand here. So John takes matters into his own hands and leans forward, closing the space between them... just at the exact moment when Rodney finally makes his move. They both jump back, rubbing their noses and scowling at each other.

"Okay, so that's the practice session over," Rodney informs their audience loudly, and then mutters to John, "Just stand there and don't move this time, if you're remotely capable of following simple instructions."

John gives Rodney a narrowed-eyed look for saying that, but he stands there and doesn't move, anyway. He doesn't have to wait all that long this time. Rodney advances on him, looking determined, tilts his head to one side and leans in. His aim is better on the second try, his lips landing in the approximate vicinity of John's mouth this time. He grasps John by the shoulders - fingers digging in too hard - shifting them both until they're properly aligned and Rodney's lips brush across John's and... they're kissing.

John doesn't expect it to be good, and it isn't. They're both standing too stiffly, their mouths too tense, everything too tentative and self-conscious. He's relieved about that. A penance shouldn't feel good, no matter how belated or inadequate it may be. Rodney shifts, tongue pushing against John's lips, a reminder that John hasn't opened his mouth yet. He lets his lips open just a little. Not too much. Just enough to convey the general idea. There's no need for anyone to be sticking a tongue down anyone else's throat or anything like that. It's no big deal.

"I thought this was supposed to be intimate?" the second elder says in a loud whisper. "And pleasurable."

"Perhaps they would prefer not to be doing it in public," Harmin whispers back.

"Or perhaps they are simply not very skilled at it," the other says sourly, not even pretending to whisper any more.

Rodney's eyes fly open, outrage written plainly in their depths. But really, if this is an example of Rodney's usual technique, John doesn't know why he's surprised. John's own technique, on the other hand, is tried and tested and it's passed with flying colours every time. If John were in charge of this kiss...

He draws back. Rodney does, too, and opens his mouth to speak, but John gets in first. "Just... let me. This time." He runs the tip of his thumb along Rodney's bottom lip. Rodney's eyes widen in shock, but it shuts him up long enough for John to take Rodney's face in his hands. The heels of his hands rest along the line of Rodney's jaw, squarer and more defined than he's used to. Rodney's cheeks are rough against John's palms as he slides his fingers up into Rodney's short, soft hair. Rodney doesn't stop him. Rodney's just standing there, staring at John and looking like he's thinking... like he doesn't know what to think.

It's easy to kiss him, then. Just a soft preliminary little touch of the lips. The sort of kiss that asks a question. Rodney doesn't stop him, and that's an answer in itself. John tries another little, questioning kiss, and this time Rodney joins in. The second kiss lasts longer. John lets his hands slip down and along Rodney's shoulders, tracing down the curve of his back, and then up again. Rodney's still looking stunned when John draws back, but stunned in a different way.

The third time's always the charm. John opens his mouth properly this time, slides his tongue into Rodney's mouth and-

Rodney wraps his arms around John's back and pulls John hard against him, thrusting his tongue into John's mouth, instantly deepening the kiss and forcing John into sudden, aching awareness of every single inch of him. Their bodies fit together perfectly, like they were designed with this exact moment in mind. John can't remember what was supposed to come next. His hands have somehow ended up on Rodney's ass, gripping hard and urging him closer. And then Rodney's kissing him fiercely, and John's kissing back just as hard, challenge and affection and, god, wanting, so much wanting, and a strong feeling of "At last!" all mixed up together, and it isn't a penance any more, it isn't a penance at all.

It's a revelation.

It's everything John never quite admitted that he wanted.

It's... happening in front of their team mates and a dozen curious aliens.

John forces his eyes open and drags his lips away from Rodney's. His pulse is beating wildly in his ears, so turned on that his entire body's thrumming with it, his cock hot and heavy, trapped in pants that are suddenly way too tight.

Rodney looks dazed, wrecked, like someone's just punched him in the face and he's still in that split second before the delayed reaction kicks in. The colour is high in his cheeks and his lips are red and sort of ravaged-looking, eyes bright, hair mussed - he's like an advertisement for everything carnal and hedonistic that the televangelists claim is wrong with today's degenerate society.

Elder Harmin looks from John to Rodney and back at John again. "Thank you. At last everything has become clear."

"No problem," John says. He can't really bring himself to say "our pleasure", but that must be pretty obvious to everyone present.

"I have just one question remaining."

"Yes?" John says warily, wearily. This guy just never gives up.

"Why didn't you just say it was a form of foreplay? Kissing may not be universal, but sex is something everyone understands."

* * *

The mission debriefing isn't all that horrible. Not as horrible as it could be, anyway. Mr Woolsey turns a penetrating eye on John when he reaches the part about exactly what sort of knowledge they provided to the Targans in exchange for their support, but he doesn't ask for any really specific details. Instead, he questions them closely about the general points of agreement they hammered out afterwards. Teyla takes over most of the talking after that and John sinks further into his chair with a feeling that isn't really relief. He keeps his eyes firmly on Woolsey's face all the way through the rest of the meeting.

As soon as Woolsey calls things to a close, John slips out of his chair and is up and out the door before anyone has the chance to ask him to wait around. He reaches up and turns off his radio as he turns the corner at the end of the corridor, and then he just keeps walking as fast as he can without actually breaking into a run until he reaches a transporter. He presses a place on the map at random, and winds up on the south pier. There isn't much to do out here except walk and think, and John definitely isn't in the mood for the second of those things, so before long he's found his way to his office and he's started making a dent in his groaning inbox.

But paperwork doesn't take up much brainspace, either, and he gives up on that as well after he's made his way through only a couple of dozen of the items marked with little red flags. He's just about to shut down his computer when his email program pings to tell him he's received a new e-mail. It's from Rodney.

John closes the computer without reading the message.

What he really needs is some proper exercise. He checks the time. Ronon's usually in the gym at this time of day. If anyone he knows has the ability to knock every single thought out of John's head, it's Ronon. Plus, Ronon is also the only member of his team that John has managed to avoid kissing inappropriately, so he has that in his favour, too.

He runs into Teyla when he's on the way back to his quarters to get changed. Of course he does. It's that sort of day.

He takes a deep breath. "Look," he says, "I just wanted to say..."

"There is no need to say anything, John. Truly," Teyla says.

"That was your first kiss, that time when I was turning into-"

"I asked you at the time to give the matter no further thought. I am glad to see that you complied."

"Teyla-"

" _John_."

He stares at her unhappily, not sure what to say next, except that he should be saying _something_. He settles for: "I'm sorry."

"There is no need for you to apologise."

"Well, I want to, anyway. A person's first kiss..."

"John, while that may have been my first kiss, you should know that it was also not my last." Teyla's smiling at him fondly now, like she thinks he's being an idiot but she still likes him anyway.

"You- it wasn't?"

"I have since discovered that a first kiss between two people - the right two people - can be a very revealing thing." She's looking him straight in the eye, like she's trying to tell him something. Or possibly like she wants him to say something. Christ.

"Um, yeah," he says intelligently. And then, because something more seems to be required: "I know."

She pats his hand. "In that case, I believe there is nothing more to say."

"Right," says John. "Uh, fine."

That turned out easier than he expected, he decides after Teyla says goodbye and he sets off down the corridor again. Perhaps today isn't quite as much that sort of day after all. He keeps thinking that until he gets to his quarters, and finds Rodney waiting outside his door.

John opens the door and walks inside, and it's only when he's flopped down on the bed that he sees that Rodney hasn't followed him in but is instead hovering uncertainly in the doorway.

"You going to come in?" he asks.

"Uh, yes?" Rodney says, and comes a few steps into the room. The door swooshes shut behind him. "You didn't say anything, so I wasn't entirely sure if I was welcome."

"You usually just barge in without even bothering to knock," John points out.

"Usually we haven't just come back from a mission where you kissed me," Rodney shoots back.

John looks away. His right hand is resting on his thigh. He studies it very hard and says, "Yeah. That's true."

Rodney comes closer, but he remains standing instead of taking his usual seat on the chair by the bed. "I just wanted to know... I'd really like to ask you why you volunteered to be my my kissing crash test dummy, back on Targa."

"Rodney-"

"No, just let me finish. I'd like to ask you, because I can think of three possible reasons: either you didn't want me to kiss Teyla, or you didn't want Teyla to kiss me, or you wanted to kiss me yourself."

The thing with Teyla isn't John's story to tell, even if he wanted to admit to it. And as for the rest His knuckles are nobblier than they used to be and the back of his hand has lots of little scars on it. He can't remember where he picked up half of them.

"Exactly," Rodney says. "You're not going to answer. There's a reason why I said 'I'd like to ask you' - I didn't really expect to get any sort of useful response out of you."

"Hey!" John says, looking up.

"So instead I'm going to tell you what I think," Rodney continues. He starts pacing the distance from John's bed to the opposite wall in slow steps, hands clasped behind his back, as he talks. "I think you didn't want Teyla to have to kiss me. I don't know why and I'm not going to ask. But that's what it was about, wasn't it? At least to begin with. I think you didn't want to kiss me, but you were perfectly willing to offer yourself up as some sort of sacrifice in her place."

John raises his eyebrows. "Interesting theory," he says. "But if you worked all this out, and you don't expect an answer from me, why are you standing here telling me about it?"

Rodney stops pacing. "You know why," he says. He's standing right next to John, his blue eyes intent on John's face. "Because it wasn't like that at the end,"

It would be easy to make some flippant remark now, to blow Rodney off and send him away with his tail between his legs, to make out that he's imagining things, that it never happened that way.

"No, it wasn't like that at the end," John agrees quietly.

"I could ask you what you want to do about that, but I think we've agreed that there's no point in asking you questions like that," Rodney says, just as quietly.

John looks him in the eye steadily, seriously. The look isn't any sort of denial. Or refusal.

"So, I think it's probably best if I just tell you what I want to do," Rodney concludes.

John clears his throat. "Or you could just do it."

"I could." Rodney sits down on the edge of the bed. He pushes against John's side. "This would be easier if you'd just shove over and make some room," he adds in a totally different tone of voice, one that John's a lot more familiar with.

"Way to break the mood, McKay," John complains, but he wriggles over so that there's just enough room for Rodney to fit on the bed beside him.

"Look, you know me. You didn't really expect me to be anything but me, even in a situation like this, did you?" Rodney's looking at him with that terrible, wide-open look John's seen before, the one that lays out all his insecurities for anyone to see. How he can let himself be so open and vulnerable is beyond John's understanding. It's weirdly courageous, though, which is just Rodney all over.

"I haven't really thought about it," John says, which is the truth. He's never let himself consider the possibility of this situation, or anything remotely like it. He's been very carefully not thinking about that, for years.

"You hadn't- So what did you think was going to happen after that little display we put on for the Targans' benefit today? That we were going to come back to Atlantis and everything was just going to go back to normal, like nothing happened?"

John shrugs. "Pretty much."

"Is that what you want? Now that I'm here and we're having this conversation?"

"I haven't kicked you out," John points out.

"True," Rodney says.

"So maybe we could get back to the part of the conversation where you were saying you could tell me what you want to do next?"

"Right," Rodney says, and swallows hard. He twists around so that they're face to face. "So I thought I'd start with-" John shifts against the pillows and Rodney grabs him by the shoulder. "Don't move, okay?" He rubs the side of his nose.

John gives him a look, but stays where he is.

"So," Rodney says. "I thought I might start with this." He drags a thumb along John's bottom lip, and John's breath catches. His other hand comes up then, and he takes John's face between them, fingers cupping John's jaw before they slide up to bury themselves in his hair. Rodney's looking right into his eyes the whole time, so close that John can feel Rodney's breath, warm against his cheek. Then Rodney closes the last little bit of distance between them and brushes his lips gently against John's. John doesn't try to move, just like he promised. He stays where he is and lets it happen.

After a moment, Rodney draws back a little. "And after that I thought I could do this," he says, and leans in again. He's just as gentle and careful as before, but this time his tongue licks against John's top lip. John opens his mouth.

They're both breathing heavily when Rodney draws back this time.

"And then," Rodney says, eyes glittering fever bright in his flushed face, "I thought I should do this." A second later, his mouth is hard against John's, tongue pushing deep inside, and his hand is on John's cock, gripping hard just as John suddenly needs it there _right now_ and just exactly like that. John thrusts up against Rodney's hand, already as hard as a rock, desperate for more as he sucks Rodney's tongue in deep and wraps his arms around Rodney's shoulders, pulling him close, pulling him down so that every bit of Rodney is pressed up against every bit of John.

Rodney pulls back, breaking the kiss and leaving them both gasping for breath, their chests heaving against each other.

"Anyway," Rodney says when he finds breath enough to speak again, "that's what I'd like to do. To start with, I mean."

"Good to know it's only just the start," John says, and starts pulling Rodney back toward him.

But Rodney isn't finished yet. "So what would you like to do?" he asks.

"Me?" John says, and presses a long hard kiss to Rodney's mouth. John thinks that's a pretty clear reply, but apparently Rodney really does want an answer in words, because he pulls back again.

"Tell me," he says, hands pushing against John's shoulders to keep John at bay.

"Rodney," John says impatiently, trying to bat Rodney's hands out of the way.

"Tell me," Rodney insists. "I told you mine. I want to hear yours."

"Okay," John says with a sigh. "You want to know what I want? What I really want?"

" _Yes_."

"I've never told anybody this before," John confides. "Come closer."

"Really?" Rodney's eyes spark with interest, and he finally lets go of John's shoulders and allows John to pull him close again.

"Really," John confirms. He leans his head in close against Rodney's ear and whispers, "What I want..." He takes a deep breath. "What I really, really want... is to try out Satedan-style kissing."

Rodney's head snaps up. "What? You mean what Ronon was describing with the nakedness and the-"

"Yeah," John says, grinning as he tugs Rodney's shirt up and starts pressing a line of kisses along Rodney's chest, heading south.

* * *

**Epilogue**

They're back on Targa a month later, celebrating the signing of the official alliance between their two peoples. Mr Woolsey's there this time, as well as John's team. Woolsey gets to sit next to Elder Harmin during the celebratory drinking party that follows. John can't quite make out the substance of their conversation, but Woolsey's smile is showing signs of strain long before it's anywhere near the time when they can politely make their farewells.

John grabs a seat next to Rodney while the drinks are being handed around and Ronon and Teyla end up down the other end of the same table. People smile and nod at them as they go past, and if some of the villagers they met last time make a point of waving and calling out to John and Rodney in particular, well, maybe the Targans are just really friendly people. Maybe.

John's as relieved as Woolsey when at last they manage to get away. Unfortunately, things prove to be even worse once they leave the official celebrations. People keep stopping John and Rodney in the street, and not just to nod or smile. Some of them want to shake hands - they can thank the follow-up visits Zelenka and some of the other scientists have been making to work on the machine in the cave for that particular piece of new knowledge, John's pretty sure - and more than one person drops a kiss on his cheek. Their progress gets slowed down so much by all the interruptions that in the end John tells the others that he and Rodney will meet them back at the 'gate.

It takes them a good fifteen minutes to make it from one end of the village to the other, and the village gates are just finally coming into sight up ahead when they're stopped yet again.

It's Senna, the girl they met last time. She presses something into John's hand.

"A reward for the sharing of useful knowledge," she says, her shy smile turning mischievous. Before he can say anything, she runs off again to join another girl waiting for her further down the street. As John watches, the two girls look his way, giggling madly.

John looks down at his hand and isn't at all surprised to find he's holding the bracelet made out of control crystals.

"You know those things are totally useless, right?" Rodney says, indicating the broken crystals set into the band.

"I think I'll keep it as a memento," John says, letting the bracelet dangle from his fingers. "A souvenir of the planet of no kissing."

"Not any more, it isn't." Rodney nods toward the street corner where Senna and her friend are now twined together and doing their very best to prove the truth of Rodney's statement. "That's really sort of sweet," Rodney says as the kiss ends and the two girls walk off, hand in hand. He catches John's eye.

"Take my hand and I'll shoot you," John tells Rodney pleasantly.

"Oh, ha ha ha," Rodney says. He pauses. "You don't really mean that, do you?"

"Try me," John says.

"I didn't realise your people had a big social taboo against holding hands, Colonel."

"Oh, we don't," John assures him. "My city's just littered with couples... holding hands all over the place. You can't move for stumbling over them half the time."

"Really," Rodney says, nodding earnestly. "Well, my people prefer to... hold hands behind closed doors."

"Interesting," John says as they start walking again. "Tell me more."

Just as they reach the village gates, Rodney grabs John and kisses him, right there in the street.

"What was that for?" John asks, when he manages to break free.

"You didn't say anything about not kissing in public. And besides, it's not like we haven't done it here before."

John really can't argue with that, so he lets it go - after he grabs Rodney by the shirt-front and gives him a kiss in return, just to balance things out.

Their fingers are all but touching as they walk out of the village together and stride up the hill toward the stargate.


End file.
